Trump Executive Order Targets Flag Burning When Linked to Lawless Action, Not Pure Free Speech

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 25, 2025, aimed at prosecuting individuals involved in American flag desecration, specifically when such acts are accompanied by other unlawful behavior or are intended to incite violence. The order, signed in the Oval Office, has sparked discussion regarding its scope and alignment with First Amendment protections.

Political commentator Kristen Mag clarified the order's intent on social media, stating, > "It does NOT criminalize burning the American flag. And it does NOT infringe on our freedom of speech. It criminalizes flag burning only when it’s intended to incite violence or when it’s accompanied by other lawless action." This perspective aligns with the order's text, which acknowledges existing legal precedents.

The executive order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to vigorously prosecute cases where flag desecration is linked to violations of law, such as violent crimes, property damage, or other civil rights infringements. It also allows for the referral of such cases to state or local authorities if they fall under local ordinances, like open burning restrictions. Despite President Trump's public statements suggesting a "one year in jail" penalty for flag burning, the order itself does not specify such a sentence for the act alone.

This directive comes decades after the Supreme Court's landmark 1989 ruling in Texas v. Johnson, which affirmed that flag burning constitutes symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. The 5-4 decision established that the government cannot prohibit expression simply because society finds the idea offensive. Legal experts, including Robert Corn-Revere of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), have reiterated that the First Amendment protects flag burning as a form of political dissent.

The administration's move is seen as an attempt to challenge or narrow the scope of this long-standing precedent, with the order encouraging litigation to clarify First Amendment exceptions. It also includes provisions for denying or revoking visas and other immigration benefits for non-citizens found to have desecrated the flag under qualifying circumstances. The order emphasizes the flag as a "sacred and cherished symbol" and views its desecration as "uniquely offensive and provocative."